Recipe: Hainanese Chicken and Rice and Three Dipping Sauces (Japanese)

HAINANESE CHICKEN AND RICE WITH DIPPING SAUCES

FOR THE CHICKEN:
1 fresh chicken
1 teaspoon of salt
5 quarts water
4 (1-inch) chunks ginger slapped with the side of a cleaver
FOR THE RICE:
2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (optional)
1 tablespoon finely minced peeled ginger
5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 pandan leaf (optional), tied into a knot
DIPPING SAUCES:
(recipes follow)
Sesame-soy Dipping Sauce
Chile-ginger Sambal Dipping Sauce
Gingered Oil Dipping Sauce Dipping Sauce

TO PREPARE THE CHICKEN:
Remove the fat from the chicken cavity and set it aside. Rub the chicken thoroughly inside and out with the one teaspoon of salt; set aside for one hour.

If you want to use the chicken fat to cook the rice, put it in a small saucepan; cook on medium-low heat to render three tablespoons of fat. Set aside.

Bring the 5 quarts water and ginger chunks to a boil in a stockpot. Add the chicken. Bring to a second boil and skim off and discard the scum that rises to the surface. If the chicken is not entirely submerged, add enough water to cover it. Cover the pot, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the chicken to a large bowl filled with cold water; set aside and allow the chicken to cool. Keep the stock warm.

When the chicken is cool, drain it and set aside. (If you are not continuing with the recipe right away, refrigerate both the chicken and the stock. Reheat the stock to continue the recipe.)

TO MAKE THE AROMATIC CHICKEN-FLAVORED RICE:
Put the rice in a large bowl and rinse it with cold water until the water runs clear. Drain thoroughly.

Heat the rendered chicken fat, or oil if you prefer, in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the minced ginger and garlic and saute lightly until aromatic about one minute. Do not brown.

Add the drained rice and sesame oil; saute for one minute. Add 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock and salt. Boil over high heat until there is no water left on the surface of the rice. Place the pandan leaf on top. Cover the pot, reduce the heat and simmer until steam no longer seeps through the cover, about ten minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to stand for another 10 minutes; do not remove the cover.

Meanwhile, prepare the dipping sauces.

TO SERVE:
Chop the chicken Chinese style into bite size pieces with the skin and bone attached. If serving lunch for two, divide the chicken between two plates; otherwise, arrange the pieces on a platter. Keep it covered until ready to serve. Strain the remaining chicken stock into a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the Chinese cabbage. When it begins to wilt, serve about one cup of soup with cabbage per person. Sprinkle the green onions on top. Garnish the chicken plate with cucumber slices and coriander leaves and serve with a bowl of hot aromatic chicken flavored rice and the dipping sauces.

DIPPING SAUCES

SESAME-SOY DIPPING SAUCE

2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

Mix oil and soy sauce together thoroughly.

CHILE-GINGER SAMBAL DIPPING SAUCE

1/2 small lime
10 cloves garlic, peeled
4 (1-inch) chunks fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
12 fresh red Serrano chiles
1/4 cup rendered chicken fat or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar

Cut the lime into wedges (leave the skin on). Puree the wedges in a blender with garlic, ginger and chiles.

Heat the fat in a saucepan over medium low heat. Add the puree and cook for five minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar and vinegar.

GINGERED OIL DIPPING SAUCE DIPPING SAUCE

1 tablespoon grated or finely minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mix the ginger and salt in a heatproof bowl.

Slowly heat the oil in a saucepan until it is hot but not smoking. Test the oil by slowly pouring a small amount over the ginger-salt mixture. If it does not sizzle, stop, return the saucepan to the stove and continue heating the oil until it is hot enough to sizzle on contact with the ginger.

Adapted from source: The Cooking of Singapore by Chris Yeo and Joyce Jue